Locally Produced Film Links Baseball With National Anthem

WBAL's John Patti talks to Mike Gibbons of the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum about the new film. Download This File

A scene from the film "O Say Can You See" (Photo by WBAL's John Patti)

A portion of the film features members of the U-S Naval Academy performing the National Anthem (Photo by WBAL's John Patti)

The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum will debut the film "O Say Can You See" Saturday. The film is a high-tech projection experience about the Star Spangled Banner and its significance in sports.

"O" Say Can you See: The Star Spangled Banner in Sports, was created by the Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation in cooperation with the city-wide effort to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812 and the battle of Fort McHenry in September, 1814.

The film will employ a new technology that projects images onto multiple surfaces creating a high-tech film experience. The film concludes with a composite rendition of the Banner, featuring bits of the song as performed by various artists and bands at sporting events.

"Many people are not aware of the historical connection of the Star Spangled Banner to sports, much less its connection to Babe Ruth," said Mike Gibbons, executive director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation. "For instance, one thing you'll learn from the film was that Babe Ruth was the pitcher during the first game of the 1918 World Series in Chicago in which President Woodrow Wilson requested the song to honor World War One wounded veterans who attended the game."

On February 9, in addition to the film premiere, author Morris Eckhouse will host a special program about Babe Ruth's "Called Shot," one of baseball's most mythic and iconic moments at 11:00 a.m. at the Birthplace. Eckhouse has written and spoke about sports for over 30 years, and is the co-author of seven books.

A birthday cake celebration in honor of Ruth will take place at 12:30 p.m., followed by an additional historical program at 1:30 p.m.